Sewing Week: Bits and Pieces

So this week, three women from Women in Service to Appalachia came to the Farm for their sewing week. They were looking to make 200+ pillowcases, wheelchair caddies and other assorted items for the Nursing Home.

Jamie, Colleen and I didn't really know what to expect. Boss-Man Joe told us to treat it like an off week so we were pretty much thinking that we would all go our separate ways this week and if they needed anything they could just tell us at the staffhouse. Well, as these things often go, the week completely surprised us. The ladies were all awesome and hilarious. Despite the large age gap it was so much fun to talk to them. I really began looking forward to our conversations over dinner every night.

Current Picture of the Farm Staffhouse...Jamie and Colleen are really getting out of control

Mary Ann had so many experiences with service. She served in Alaska in the early days of Jesuit Volunteer Corps and had actually been considering becoming a Glenmary sister at one point and time. Dorothy was hilarious in that she was always trying to get out of sewing. Meanwhile she has such a passion for... well, for lack of a better term... people having a passion. She was concerned that a lot of people coming out of college end up getting jobs in the business sector and end up hating it. She felt that more and more young people were getting plugged into a system dictated by money and were losing the human connection. While her view isn't entirely accurate and the business sector isn't devoid of all love etc, I think seeing us go about our job really gave her a sense that the younger generation does actually care about helping people. Cindy was the ringleader and a very impressive individual. Her passion for what she does and the effort she puts into WSA was really admirable.


I think this week, more than last, really taught me about the rhythym of the Farm. Last week, I was so concerned about all the kids and the sites and everything was so new that it was hard to really appreciate everything. But this week has been so laid back that I've really had the time to appreciate the connections we've made during their time here. But, as the Farm goes, as soon as those connections are formed the people leave. It's like constantly making friends and then having them constantly leave. I realize that it is a such a short time and that some people might not understand the connections that are forged here on the Farm. But there's something about this place and its simplicity that allows meaningful relationsips to form in such a short amount of time. Without the distractions of a lot of technology, people actually make an effort to talk to each other. The reading Dorothy had this morning really summed it up well and also serves as the byline for my entry (Bits and Pieces). "People. People important to you. People unimportant to you....cross your life; touch it with love and carelessness and move on... You will find that you are made up of bits and pieces of all who have ever touched you along the path of your life. And you are more because of it, and you would be less if they had not touched you."


So thank you. Thank you to those who have come to the Farm already and thank you to those who have not yet passed this way but will in the future. You have done and will do great service for the people of Lewis County but you will also do a service to me and those who live here at the Farm. Even though you aren't here for long, you presence is felt and appreciated.